


Painting the Roses Red

by LannaMisho



Category: Ib (Video Game), Mad Father, The Witch's House
Genre: Crossover, Evil!Aya, F/M, Horror, attempted suicide, physical and psychological torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-30
Updated: 2015-03-29
Packaged: 2018-02-15 09:09:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2223423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LannaMisho/pseuds/LannaMisho
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>To Garry a fishing trip seemed like a fun, relaxing way to celebrate Ib’s birthday (and to get away from any artwork on the anniversary of That Day). The trip takes a turn for the worst when Ib falls ill. Deep in the woods, far from any town, running into the pretty and mysterious doctor seems like a lucky break.</p><p>But this doctor has an obsession with beauty and those she treat never leave. Garry and Ib find themselves dragged down the rabbit-hole into a world where madness thrives and every rose is painted with blood.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It Doesn’t Matter Which Way You Go

**Author's Note:**

> So, I'm really pleased with this story. There are still a couple of kinks that I'd like to iron out, but I think it's pretty good. Take this story with a grain of salt. A twisted, bitter, mad grain of salt.

It all started out as a simple, stupid idea. 

A fishing trip. He'd just mentioned it one day. His father used to take him as a kid back in Japan, and he'd loved it. He said he'd take her. He shouldn't have, he realized later, knowing her parents would never agree. Not to him taking her, and especially not over night. 

She latched on to the idea. He knew she wouldn't let it go. So when she called and said that her parents had finally agreed, he couldn't say he was surprised. He picked her up that Friday, all pack and off they went. When she said her parents were at work and handed him a list of emergency numbers, he didn't question it. He didn't figure on an old note for an old babysitter or exactly how bad she wanted to go on that trip(1). He just helped her in the car and drove off. 

It's been a stupid idea. 

… … … … 

Ib's eyes grew wide as a massive tug on the end of her fishing line nearly took her right off the edge of the pier. Garry caught her arm startled, seeing her jerk.

"You got one!" He grinned excitedly, letting go as she scrambled to her feet, bracing herself and preparing to battle. "Do you need help?"

Ib shook her head, getting a better grip on the poll. The fish was strong, but it wasn't stronger then her. Gripping tight with the one hand, she reached for the reel and started spinning it as fast as she could. The fish fought against it's capture, tugging and yanking at the line. Garry watched eagerly, tossing her little words of advice.

Finally, with a grunt, Ib gave a vicious tug and the fish flew into the air, landing on the pier before her. Again, Ib's bright, red eyes widened to the size of saucers. The fish was a glimmering blue-green and about as big as Ib's head. Huge, considering how close they were to the shore. 

Garry let out an impressed whistle. "Wow! That's the biggest one yet! Do you want a picture?"

Ib looked over at him, her expression still in shock at her amazing catch, before she nodded quickly.

Garry grabbed the flopping creature by it's mouth and unhooking it from the line, suppressing a shudder. Obviously, he didn't expect Ib to hold the fish by the mouth, even if she was more comfortable touching the fish then he was, so he had her stick out her arms and placed it in the crook. 

"Careful not to squeeze it," he warned. "Or it'll slip away." She jumped when the cold fish scales brushed her arms. "Say cheese!"

Ib slapped on a big 'ol grin as he whipped out his disposable camera. The image through the lens made him laugh. There was Ib, pretty little rich girl all dressed up, holding her prize fish and sporting a cocky grin. He was definitely happy to be getting the memory on film.

*Click*

"Did you get it?" She asked. 

"Yeah, I think so."

Ib's expression immediately turned serious as she spun around and quickly tossing the fish back into the water. Flopping down on the pier, her bright eyes racked the murky water for movement. 

"Is it ok?" She asked, solemnly. 

Garry didn't know, but as he peered over the edge and determined that the fish wasn't going to re-surface belly-up, he nodded. "Yeah, there it goes, swimming away. It's just fine. What a great fish you caught." 

Ib looked at him and her expression melted into joy. She jumped up, laughing, innocent, nothing or the strong, silent child from the long dark halls, or the composed, obedient daughter trapped under her parent's gaze. Around him, she was just a little kid. 

He wondered sometimes, if he was the only one who got to see her that way. It made him feel more like an adult- 

"That was the biggest fish I've ever seen, Garry!"

"Yeah! It was as big as a shark!"

-And a little more like a kid. 

Ib made a face that made him laugh. "No it wasn't."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, sharks are even bigger then you are." She giggled at how obvious that was, but it was cut off by a quick cough that snuck out of her chest. Quickly she covered her mouth and another cough forced it's way out, followed by another. Something inside her lungs seemed to crackle and then she was coughing, hacking, gasping for air, still trying to keep her hand over her mouth. 

Garry winced, kneeling down to pat her back. "I thought that cough was gone…" He muttered. She shook her head, trying to say she was fine, but having some difficulty. She had been coughing ever since they arrived. It had only been little coughs, with no fever or other symptoms, so he had just passed it off as some kind of allergy. But that wasn't an allergy cough and it was definitely getting worse. 

Picking her, and the pail of fish he'd caught for dinner, up he brought them both back to their little camp. 'I'm just fine', she kept saying, until he pulled a thermometer out of the medical supplies and stuck it in her mouth. 

Yep. She had a fever. 

"Oh no…" He muttered under his breath. He should have checked before they'd left camp earlier. What if he'd made it worse. What if she'd gotten West Niels disease from the mosquitos? Or malaria!? Could you catch malaria in that area?! 

"I'm not sick." Ib said firmly, not wanting her three day vacation to be cut off on Saturday afternoon. They'd already spent half the day driving on Friday. She didn't want to go! "It's just a cough! Nothing to worry about!"

"Ib…"

"I'm fine!"

Garry sighed. He could see the determination in her eyes… and the feverish flush coming to her cheeks. He took her hand and knelt in front of her. "Ib. I know you want to stay, but if you sick I need to get you home so that you can rest. If I don't bring you back, your parent's will never let me take you out again. You wouldn't want that would you?" 

Ib looked away from him nervously, which he mistook as sadness. 

"I promise I'll bring you back another day, Ok?"

Ib looked at him with doubt and Garry pouted. "What? You don't trust me? I love fishing. We'll go lots of times."

Ib sighed sadly and Garry bit his lip, nervous by her change of behavior. "Come on. Why don't you sit down and relax? I'll get everything picked up." He hurried her into her little lounge chair and made quick work of cleaning everything up, pilling it into the car.

"Are we going to eat the fish?" Ib asked when he was done.

Garry felt nervous again, when he saw how flush her face had gotten. Her eyes were looking a little clouded and she looked tired. Whatever this was, it was coming on her fast. 

"Well, I'll stick them in the cooler and bring them with us. I'll prepare them tomorrow, if you're feeling better." Of course, it looked like it wouldn't be long before all she would be handling was chicken broth. 

She didn't say anything, just fell victim to another coughing fit. Garry waited it out. When it was done, she looked at him and said in a little voice, "I don't feel so good…"

Garry felt overwhelmed with parental instincts. "Oh, Honey…" He quickly got a blanket, wrapped her up and carried her to the car. "It's ok. Don't worry. Why don't you go to sleep and we'll be home before you know it." She nodded a little weakly as he buckled her in and made sure she was comfortable. 

The fishing area they'd stayed at had been the secret spot of a friend-of-a-friend. A little lake up, out-of-the-way, with a gravel road over the mountain. Not even too the fishing spot, in fact, the instructions to getting to to this spot had included the words: "Drive exactly 14.8 miles then turn left and drive right across the field." 

It hadn't been very encouraging, but he'd found it. And finding his way out wasn't difficult either, but he wasn't looking forward to the drive back, making poor Ib wait the whole way home. Oh, why did he pick such a far away spot? He lit a cigarette, then immediately put it out, thinking about her health. Now his nerves where going to get to him. 

He was searching around for a child-friendly station to listen too, when Ib suddenly sat up. 

"Pull over." He looked at her startled, and she covered her face, flushing green. 

"Oh!-Ok!" He pulled over into the grass and Ib jumped out. Garry threw open his door and made it around the car just as she started to heave into the grass. "Oh…!"

It took a few minutes to get it out of her system, while Garry held back her hair, her nice sun hat, and rubbed her back. When she was finished he gave her plenty of water and waited until she said she was feeling better. 

'Poor thing,' he thought. Maybe she had food poisoning? But he knew how to prepare raw fish and he hadn't let her eat any strange berries. He carried her back to the car and buckled her in, covering her with his coat, which always seemed to comfort her. 

Meanwhile, Ib was feeling worse about messing up the fishing trip then she was about being sick. The water felt heavy in her stomach and swished around as the car moved. Garry had that overreacting panic written all over his face. She thought, for sure, she had ruined the whole trip. 

She was dwelling on that thought when her body snapped against the seatbelt and the drivers outstretched arm, as Garry hit the break a little too hard.

"Sorry!" He said quickly, but distracted, making a quick and rather illegal U-turn. "Did you see what that sign said?" 

A little ways back, there was a small dirt road, almost obscured by trees and bushes. Yet, nailed to a tree, was a wooded sign that said: 

Doctor Drevis  
Patients Welcome

… … … … 

The little wooden cottage was quaint, surrounded by flowers and warm bright light. The air of the woods was clean and fresh, and everything felt beautiful. That luck they had to find a doctor all the way out there! 

"What are we doing here?" Ib asked, wiggling in his arms until he put her down. 

"I think this is it. Why don't' you wait here and I'll go check it out?" She nodded as he started forward.

Halfway to the door, he began to think logically. It was a mysterious cottage deep in the woods. It could just as well be a scary, crazy man with an ax? But what kind of crazy man would sure a sign saying he was a doctor? He stopped in front of the door. But that wasn't too bad a plan. They were there, right now. What did he know about how crazy ax-men think? What did he know about this Drevis guy? Was he even a real doctor? Really, how dumb was he; thinking about taking little Ib into some strange mans house in the woods without so much as letting anyone know where they were? 

As worried as he was, he could wait until they got back to town. He could take her to a real doctor. He knew her parents would prefer it. And even if she didn't, he-

*Knock knock*

Garry squawked at the young girl who'd briskly walked passed him and banged on the door. "I-Ib! Hold on, I was just thinking maybe this isn't a great-"

"One moment!" Came a gentle voice from inside, cutting off his whisper. It was a women's voice, young probably. He wasn't filled with urge to grab his bold friend and bolt back to the car, anyways. 

True to her work, a moment later the door opened slightly, revealing a beautiful women with eyes so blue they reflected the afternoon sky. Short black hair framed her honest face, and she looked at them almost surprised, but not cautious or uncomfortable, which was a reaction he was used to getting from girls. 

"Hello." She said, her eyes moving between them slowly. 

Garry blinked, still fearing the burly man with an ax he was no longer quite sure was inside, but much more relieved by this first impression. "H-Hi. Um, is Dr. Drevis here?"

She opened the door with a warm smile that made them both feel safe. "Yes, I'm the doctor. May I help you?"

"I'm sick." Ib piped up, her voice overlapping Garry as he asked, "You're the doctor?"

"Oh my," Dr. Drevis laughed, kneeling gentle before the girl, not seeming to care about her dress at all. She touched the girls forehead, looked into her eyes and checked her throat, eyes darkening concerned. "You are warm… I don't think it's too serious, but if it is…" She smiled, giving Garry a look that scared him. "…we wouldn't want anything to happen to this pretty girl." 

Garry bit his lip. She thought it was something serious- damn it! It was Malaria! Fuck! 

Dr. Drevis stood up and motioned inside with her arm. "I'm just an herbalist, so you should probably go to a proper doctor after this, but I know I have something for your fever. Would you like to come in?"

"Yes please." Ib said, walking right in. Garry, worried and not about to let her go followed along inside. 

The inside of the little building was even more charming the the outside, with big windows and natural lighting. It felt open, with archways that made Garry feel comfortable. 

"Is this your house?" He asked, looking around. 

"Yes, my home and office." She motioned the the back, where he could see some tables and medical supplies. "Theres a couch in the living room. Please take a seat. Unless your sister wants you to come in."

Ib shook her head quickly, plenty brave enough for a medical exam (and old enough to know some involved getting undressed). Garry knew the same, although he felt a little strange about leaving her alone with the doctor. 

"Well, no… that's ok. I'll wait right out here." Garry shifted. "I'm not actually her brother, so…" 

Dr. Drevis looked between them. "Father?"

"No! Just-Just a friend."

The doctor nodded. "Come with me, Miss. What is your name?"

"Ib," she answered, following her into the back. Garry sat down on the couch as a curtain was pulled across the arch blocking his view. 

… … … … 

Dr. Drevis gave her a perfectly normal physical. Checked her pulse and breathing, but she seemed distracted; Preoccupied with more important thoughts, so Ib didn't ask her any questions. 

Garry occasionally asked questions through the curtain, which the lady answered simply and Ib insisted she was fine.

Still, there was something strange about her. Ib couldn't tell, what it was. Something about the way she touched her face, or admired her hair. Maybe it was something about all the knifes along the back table, but Ib told herself that the nice lady was a doctor, and she was too old to be afraid of doctors. 

Finally, Aya moved to the cabinet and pulled out a small case. "Alright, I'm going to treat your fever now. You aren't afraid of needles, are you?"

Ib straightened up proudly, despite being wearily from the sickness. "No. Not at all."

The doctor smiled and Ib flinched, for a second thinking the smile similar to the mad grin of a pleased painting. 

"Let me see your arm Ib," the madness was gone and Ib relaxed, letting the doctor do her work "And I promise you'll never get sick again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think? I'm sure not where anyone thought an Ib Mad Father crossover should go, but I hope you Like it. I can't wait to hear what other people think, as I am really, really pleased with this story. 
> 
> The rest of the story is completely written, I just need to finish revising it, so the next chapter will come as soon as that's done. 
> 
> (1) If anyone has a better idea as too how they got on this trip, I'm all ears. Note, my head canon is that neither of Ib's parents trust him. So, 'Ib convinces them' is not an option.


	2. It's Always Tea Time

The couch was comfortable, but Garry found that he couldn't really sit still. He walked over to the window, looking out at the forest; moved over to the curtain, listening to the doctor ask questions that sound like real doctor questions; looked at just about anything that could be looked at without touching or opening things. 

It was all normal thing. Nothing weird, pictures of flowers, a few normal looking letters; nothing strange. He almost couldn't believe it. To have just stumbled onto a nice, normal doctor in the middle of the woods. 

When Dr. Drevis entered the room and closed the curtain behind her, he felt his heart leap. "Well," he asked quickly. "How is she?"

She held up her finger to her mouth and motioned to the curtain. "Shhh… She needs sleep. It's a good thing you brought her to me when you did. I'd be very concerned if her fever had gotten much worse."

Garry peaked through the curtain, to see Ib sleeping soundly on the table. "Is… is it something serious?"

The women shook her head, taking his arm and escorting him back to the living area, away from the curtain. Her face was concerned, like she didn't know what to tell him. "It's not… serious now. If she were farther along, then I would worry. I've given her something for the fever and that's the thing I'm most worried about." She motioned for him to sit and finally he did. "Mr-…?"

Garry waited, only to realize he'd never given her his name. "Oh! I'm sorry! Garry! My name's Garry."

"Garry. What a nice name." She smiled at him in a way that told him she had good news. "You noticed a problem just in time. The fever will go right down and as soon as she wakes up, you can bring her to the doctor in town. She'll be better by tomorrow."

Garry felt his shoulders sag and he closed his eyes in relief. Thank god… what would he have done if her hadn't gotten her somewhere in time? What if he'd waited too long? He cringed at the thought. He owed her so much; He adored her, he loved her so much… he didn't know what he would do if something had happened to her. 

When he opened his eyes, the young doctor had begun a pot of tea, and was pulling out sugar and milk. "Dr. Drevis. I can't thank you enough."

She laughed warmly, looking back at him. "It's just Aya."

"Aya," he repeated and she smiled wider. 

"And theres no need to thank me. Tea?" She held up two cups questioningly. He thanked her bashfully, and she placed them on the tray. "That's why I run a free clinic."

Garry flushed, realizing that he hadn't thought about how he was going to pay for her services. "Oh, wow. Thats… that's so generous. How do you stay open? Why are you all the way out here?"

She looked at him and he wondered if he was being too nosy. But she didn't look offended. She looked happy he was asking. He figured she probably didn't get much company this far out and hoped he'd make decent company. 

"Donations mostly and the money my parents left me." Garry tried not to gasp at the meaning of her words. "I'm and herbalist and a surgeon, but I've never had formal training. I've studied the human body all my life. So when people who have terminal illnesses, or can't afford insurance need help, they can come here and I help them."

"That's so… so nice of you. Wow…" Garry looked down at his hands, thinking about how he could never do anything like that. It was amazing. 

"So… tell me about you." Aya said, shifting things around. "What brings you two out here. I don't think I've seen you in town, so you can't be local."

"Oh, fishing. A fishing trip." He smiled. "I'b said she's never been fishing, so I thought I'd take her."

"Fishing? Around here?" 

Garry shrugged. "A good couple of miles up the road, it took a while to find, my directions where lacking…" 

"Oh…" she kept moving things around, waiting for the tea, not looking at him. "Just you two?" 

"Yep." The tea began to boil and Aya turned off the fire, poring them both a cup. She brought the tray over to the table and sat down beside him. "So, friends. How did you two meet? School function type thing? A friends sibling?" 

Garry looked down at the floor. How many times had he gotten that question? How many suspicious eyes, and accusing tongues. He couldn't tell the truth. Even his closest friends had just thought he was high when he finally opened up to them. Experimenting with some drugs that they didn't want to know about.

"I…" He knew there were good lies, Aya had provided two, but he was a terrible liar. He didn't want the doctor to think that he couldn't trust her, or worse, for her to think that he was the suspicious one, a strange man traveling alone with a young sick girl. "…we were trapped, in this horrible place together. I don't like to talk about it. But if it wasn't for her, I never would have made it. She's… so smart and brave. She saved me and when we finally made it out… I promised that I'd stay in touch."

He smiled, remembering how he had almost forgotten her. If it hadn't been for that handkerchief, those memories might have stayed locked up forever. He would have lived his life without the memory of what had happened and he would never of seen Ib again…

His smile faded. 

"…I just want to… I just want to be there, for her. To pay her back for everything she's done for me. She's just a very special person to me." 

The doctor was quiet for a long moment as he reminisced, before taking a sip of her tea. "I… I understand." Garry looked at her, appreciating her sympathy but not properly comprehending her words. "When I was not much older then Ib myself, my father tried to kill me." 

Garry almost threw his cup in surprise. "Oh my god-! W-What?" 

She smiled, amused at his reaction. He thought, maybe, it was a mask, hiding the fear she had felt as a child. "My father… he wanted me to be something. I didn't want too. I wanted to save him, but he was too far gone to understand that I…" She shook her head, still smiling, her eyes shining with love and admiration. "It was Maria. Maria that saved me. I'd even hated her before. But she saved me. She took care of me. She did everything in her power to give me the life that I had lost. She used to tell me… that I was her reason for living."

Garry found himself smiling. "Yeah… I guess… you do understand." He looked down into the dark liquid in his tea cup, missing the strange look that crossed her face. "Where is she? Maria? Does she live nearby?"

"She lives here," Aya told him, her hand rising to her heart. "Where I keep her eternally young and beautiful."

Garry flushed, looking up. "Sorry…"

"Don't be," She smiled fondly. "Your tea is going to get cold."

"Oh." He took a deep drink, swallowing most of the glass. "It's very good. Thank you."

Aya's smile widened just briefly, before she put down her cup and scooted closer. Garry looked at her surprised and more so when she looked at him closely. "You know… Your hair is just lovely."

Garry flushed. "Oh. Thank you." 

"I've treated men before, but… so few healthy men come by." She looks almost bashful as she gazes up at him. "And none as handsome and sweet. The mountains can be so lonely… I do appreciate your company."

Garry felt his breath catch deep in his throat as he stared at her sultry expression. Handsome? Sweet? And-! was-! -was she making a pass at him!? But why!? He looked away quickly. He'd never had a women come on to him before, much less an older women (she looked to be his age, but with her behavior and experience as a doctor, he was sure that she was older then him). 

Boy was that going to be a story to tell the guys back home! Talk about something they wouldn't believe!

"I wonder… if this is how my father felt when he met my mother…" 

Garry looked up, his excitement dampened by the mention of the father that had tried to kill her. It seemed like a strange thing to bring up right then. 

"Different from Maria…" She smiled, her hand coming to rest lightly on his knee. "I don't want to preserve your beauty… I want you alive."

Garry shivered. That… that was a really weird, slightly uncomfortable thing to hear. He started to move back but the cup he was holding fell the the floor. The contents spilt across the floor and a white streak flashed before his eyes. His vision blurred, swirled and flickered. He could hear a soft giggle from in front of him, where he knew Aya was sitting. 

He forced himself to his feet, nearly tripping over the coffee table. It was like he wanted to go one way and his body want to go another. What did she put in that tea? He could hardly make out anything around him but he tried to reach Ib. He wanted to tell her to run. But the world spun faster and faster, until he felt himself hit the wooded floor and everything slowly went black. 

… … … … … 

Everything felt…

Fuzzy.

That was what Ib thought as she struggled to open her eyes. Fuzzy like she was still asleep and cold, so very cold. She tried to rub at her arms but they were too heavy to lift.

As her mind began to clear, she realized she was in a strange room she'd never seen before. Wall to wall stone, cabinets and beakers, and her arms weren't too heavy. There was a white strap over her chest and legs, holding her firmly to a cold metal table. 

"Garry…?" She muttered, the room coming into focus as she realized something was wrong. "Garry!" She jerked against the bonds." Ugh!" It was tight, but she was young and small. Wiggling had already proven she had a little room to work with. If she could just… free.. her… arm…!

Strange medical supplies lined the cabinets and spilled out across counters. There were strange empty containers, taller then Garry, along one wall, some covered in white sheets. Then there were trays of sharp tools. It looked just like a labs in those monster movies her father liked. 

Except for in the corner, that stood two of the most beautiful dolls she'd ever seen. They were so lifelike, in a brief moment of hope, she'd almost called out to them for help. But they were too still, too straight. Despite their beauty, something about them made Ib uneasy. 

Finally, although every part of her arm and shoulders ached, she managed to squeeze her elbow out of the confinement freeing her arm. Quickly she reached over and unhooked the trap, sitting up to free her legs. She wasn't wearing her sundress, but a white slip, maybe like something she'd wear to bed, and her shoes were missing. 

She took only a moment to look around and determine they weren't in the room. As much as that concerned her, she couldn't take the time, trying to find them. She dropped her feet to the cold stone floor and raced to the door, yanking on the handle. 

Locked. 

The second door, on the other side of the room, opened with ease. The corder beyond was dark and cold, going on farther then she could see. She hesitated. 

She wasn't afraid of the dark, she wasn't afraid of being alone, but she was afraid of that hallway. It felt wrong and dangerous. She knew that feeling, her body telling her that it wasn't safe. If only it had felt that way upstairs… Still, Ib knew she had to move on. The museum had taught her that. So she grabbed a candle and lit it with a match box on the counter and started down. 

The stone beneath her feet felt like ice and her lungs still crackled when she breathed, but she didn't feel fatigued. Her mind and body was alert. If she let her guard down, she would be taken. By what, she didn't know. Anything could be hiding in the darkness. 

The first room she found was locked. As was the next one. She was beginning to lose hope when the third door swung open and she immediately regretted it. A horrified scream built up in her throat and she almost dropped her candle stumbling away from the door. 

The bodies were covered in blood, ripped open and discarded on low tables. The light had only shown her so much, but the image was burned into her mind. She shuddered, praying that Garry was looking for her too as she hurried way from the bloodied room. 

The following rooms weren't much better. The ones that were unlocked were filled with things that shocked even her brave young mind. In one she found a collection of loose body parts, layer out or shelved neatly, and in another a whole room of dead rabbits stuffed in jars. Her fever returned, but she was too cold to notice. Terror was building up in her stomach. She was brave. She was the strongest little girl she knew. But she was only a little girl. 

She didn't want to be trapped in a scary place again. 

It was a long search before she saw a light glowing in the distance. It moved slowly, getting bigger and Ib knew it was a person. Blowing out her candle she ducked into the nearest room, peering out through the crack. 

Ib covered her mouth when the young doctor passed by, the blue dress swishing over stone, holding a single lantern. Ib crawled backwards, hiding behind something she couldn't see, and hid there until the soft footsteps had clicked past her and down the hall. 

There was no going back now. Garry had to be further down the hall. 

… … … … … 

When he woke up, the first thing Garry realized was that the stone floor was much harder then where he'd fallen asleep. 

The second was that he was going to kill that doctor. 

Damn it. How stupid could he be? What was he thinking trusting some strange women he met in the woods! How could he have brought Ib back into this?

"Ib!" He gasped, looking around. There was a soft light beyond the bars of what he realize was a cell. He was alone. blood stained the floor around him, though not his. He yanked on the bars, kicked, felt the wall for something loose, a window, something sharp, anything.

There was nothing. He was trapped. He could see the keys on the wall, probably just there to tease him. He reached out, knowing there was nothing in arms reach, just feeling helpless. 

"Ib!" He yelled again. If that women had harmed her in anyway he really was going to kill her. That women was up to something. She drugged him, looked him in a dungeon, but… maybe she just wanted him… She had hit on him. Maybe she would let Ib go… 

He had to get out of there.

"Aya! Let me out of here! Where's Ib!? Someone!?" He tried to shake the bars again in frustration. 

"…Garry…?"

His heart nearly kept out of his chest. "Ib!?" He pressed against the bars and almost cried when the girl came running out of the darkness. "Oh thank god! Are you alright? Did she hurt you?"

"No, no I'm alright." She said, and he dropped to his knees, hugging her tight through the bars when she reached him. She sighed with relief. 

"Oh, Ib… I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I'm sorry I got you into this. I'm such an idiot. I'm sorry." 

Ib smiled. She didn't blame Garry. He wasn't stupid. They were just very unlucky. But they were unlucky together. "How do I open the door?" She asked. 

"The keys!" He said, letting go and pointing at the walls. "Quickly." 

The key was just out of her reach, but after a few jumps she managed to get it off the hook. She wasted no time getting the door unlocked. 

Once the door swung open, Garry hugged her again, tighter. "You're amazing Ib." He grabbed his things off the table nearby and put his jacket on Ib's shivering form. Using his lighter he lit the candle she was holding. "We have to get out of here. Don't worry. I'll protect you."

Ib took his hand, trusting him completely when Garry didn't even trust himself. 

"Do you know the way out?"

"No. A lot of doors were locked."

Garry nodded. "Don't worry, we'll find it."

Feeling safe in Garry's strong hands, she smiled, beginning to feel the effects of her fever. Garry's grip tightened when she coughed. 

"She's not a very good doctor, is she?" He asked. Ib giggled.

… … … … … 

Careful as they were, it took a while to make it back to the room where Ib had been restrained.

"What vile things this doctor does…" Garry said, thinking back on the rooms Ib had shown him. He'd screamed, maybe, embarrassed by how well Ib seemed to take it beside him. But it was terrifying. He didn't even want to think about what the doctor had planned for them. He was loosing courage fast, but they had to get out of there. 

Ib stopped short in the doorway. "Whats wrong?" He asked. 

She pointed across the room to the other door hanging open. "That was locked."

Garry felt a chill run up his spine. Aya had gone through there. Obviously, she had to have gone somewhere, but that meant that she knew Ib had escaped. Why hadn't she come back? Did she think Ib had gotten outside? But through a locked door? Still, it wasn't like they had any other choices. 

"Come on, that must lead to the exit." He handed Ib the candle as he, shaking, picked up a large knife off the operating table. "I… I don't think m-my lighter will protect us this time."

Ib stared up at the trembling man with the knife, her eyes stronger then his. "We have too."

He took a deep breath to stop his trembling. She was right. "We have too. Too survive." He steeled himself, taking the lead for the first time, he stepped out the door. 

The long hallway was lined with pretty dolls of all shapes and sizes, standing with the help of little stands below their feet, or sitting on pedestals. Their faces were so lifelike and he shivered. They weren't as creepy as the blue dolls, but they were still pretty creepy. He hadn't alway hated dolls, but after all this, he done with all kinds. Fuck dolls. 

Ib stayed close.

"Quickly." Garry muttered as they moved down the hall. Men and women gazed blankly as they passed, expressions unchanging. "Look, stairs!"

They reached the end of the corder and there was a set of wooden stairs. At the top were windows to the outside. It was pitch black outside, but he didn't care! He could see the back door! They were almost free!

However the second his foot touched the first step, a horrible metallic roar filled the air. He stumbled back as a shadow appeared at the top, arms filled with the large buzzing machine. Ib dropped the candle, grabbing his arm with both her hands. 

"G-Garry-!"

Garry trembled as the woman took one step towards them, down the stairs. "I thought you might slip past me, so I thought I would wait up here. How did you manage to escape?" Another step. "Ib-" she addressed and Garry snapped out of his stupor. 

"RUN!" He screamed, blindly throwing the useless knife in Aya's direction as he grabbed Ib's hand and bolted down the hall. 

They stumbled blindly down the hall, knocking over the dolls they bumped into. Ib stumbled, her little legs having trouble keeping up. Garry kept her on her feet, but it was too dangerous to carry her in the dark. They reached the operating room and Garry slammed the door, pulling on the cabinet next to it until it tipped over landing on it's side. Ib covered her ears as the glass doors shattered and rained over his feet, the things inside poring out, spilling on the floor. 

"That should buy us some time!" He said firmly. Time to do what? Hide? They had checked everywhere; there hadn't been another exit! How were they supposed to escape now?

Ib grabbed the other door and pulled. It didn't budge. "Garry! The doors locked!"

"What!?" He ran over and yanked, even putting his foot on the wall and pulling as hard as he could. "How!? We didn't eve close it!" He hit the door angrily. "What do we do now?" he asked, looking down into the girls scared eyes and immediately regretting his question. Ib was the one that always came up with the plan, but that should be his job, he was the adult. 

Yet, when he asked, she squared her shoulders and flew away from him. Moving to the shelves, she began yanking everything off, looking for a key or an item that could help. Garry felt a wave of hopelessness come over him as he stared at the determined little girl he loved so much. He'd failed. He couldn't protect her. They were going to die because he had been so. fucking. stupid!

*Knock Knock*

They both jumped. 

"Garry? Ib?" Aya's voice lacked the madness they expected. "Open the door. You have no where to go. Come now. You won't feel a thing."

Ib's expression hardened again and she renewed her search with vigor. Garry joined her, searching the top shelves where she couldn't reach. "Just let us go! Why are you doing this!?"

He didn't hear a reply, only the revving of the chainsaw.

Garry clented his fists for a moment, before grabbing Ib and pulling her away from her search.

"Wait-!"

"Theres no time!" He carried her to the sheets and drew them open. The bodies he saw frightened him, but he placed Ib between the tubes, the little girl seeming even smaller tucked into the corner. "Ib… I'll distract her. You run."

Her eyebrows dropped. "No."

Garry panicked. "Ib! We don't have time for this! Just- do this for me!"

She grabbed his arm as the sound of spinning metal touched wood. "You wouldn't leave me!" 

Garry grabbed her arms and shook her, "I would if you were an adult and I was a little kid and you told me too! I am the adult, so you run! I swear I'll… I'll follow right after. Right? I'm an adult. I can knock her out just like Mary, but I can't do that if I'm worried about you! Please!" 

Her eyes were wide and startled by his yelling. "I… Ok…"

He sighed. "Promise?"

"I promise."

"Good…" He pulled the sheets back into place and moved back to the cabinets on the other side. The chainsaw broke through the door and Garry watched, his hands grabbing whatever things by his feet that he could as Aya carved out a little opening for herself and delicately climbed out the broken cabinate. 

"Now, where has little Ib gone?" she asked casually, gazing about the room. 

Garry took the jar he had grabbed and chucked it at her. It hit square on and she cried out, stumbling back, the chainsaw throwing her off balance. Garry ignored the completely irrational shame over hitting a women, by grabbing something else. "I told you to let us go! You-You Psyco!" He threw it, hitting her shoulder.

Aya frowned, finally something different from her fake doctor smile. Her darker expression only scared him more. "Garry…" She chide. "That's not nice. I don't want to hurt you."

Garry glared. "Yeah right!" He threw another jar, the last by his feet, and she avoided it with a graceful sidestep. 

"No, Darling…" She smiled warmly. "Don't you remember, I said that I wanted you alive."

Garry tried to hold his scowl as fear overtook his heart. ""But you want to hurt Ib!? That's the same thing!"

Aya took another step towards him, lowering the chainsaw just a bit. "I don't want to hurt her. I want to take away her pain. I want to preserve her." She looked at him sadly. "You know… what the world will do to her. She will be ruined." She stepped forward again, her eyes begging for understanding. "You don't want her to hurt, I know that. Do you want her to leave you? To grow up and leave you behind? I want to make her yours forever." She moved closer still, the chainsaw buzzing between them as Garry pressed back against the locked door. "Forever, you're most precious person. Just like Maria." She smiled towards the doll beside him, the one dressed like a nurse. 

Garry followed her gaze, feeling nauseous looking into the dolls caring green eyes. It… that was Maria?! "You-You killed her-!?"

"She was happy to become one of my dolls. Forever young."

Garry saw Ib peek out from behind the curtain, but he tried not to look at her. "How could you do that to someone you love?"

Aya laughed soflty. "It's alright. You'll understand soon enough. After all-" Ib edged around the operating table before making a break for the busted door. "-neither of you can escape."

Tender feet landed on shards of broken glass at full force. Ib screamed, but was unable to stop her momentum. She stumbled through the glass before falling in it, the shards cutting into her arms and hands. She cried out in pain. Garry screamed her name but there was nothing he could do, trapped behind the chainsaw. Ib tried to pull herself out of the glass, she tried to grab her feet, but the glass hurt too much. The blood began to pool underneath her. 

"Garry!" She cried, her long hair splayed around her, her slip turning red. 

Garry clenched his teeth, his face twisting in pain. Their plan failed. Ib couldn't run on those feet. She couldn't even crawl through the glass if he somehow managed to keep Aya away. Again! It was his fault! How did he forget she didn't have shoes on!? He should have noticed! He should have thought of the glass!

Aya sighed a long sigh. "See now… see what you did? More pain…" She turned to the girl, but lifted her weapon when Garry made a move towards her. "Ah-ah-ah… You don't want to make things worse." 

Ib pulled away as far as she could, but it wasn't long before Aya was beside her with the chainsaw. "Don't worry, I can fix those cuts. I'd rather give them time to heal, but, I can manage. They won't even be noticeable."

"Please!" Garry yelled. "Don't hurt her!"

Aya gave him a look, akin to pity. "Garry. I haven't hurt her. I didn't give her this fever or cut her skin. I only put her to sleep. She wasn't supposed to wake up, she wasn't supposed to feel anything else. She was supposed to sleep peacefully until I was ready, but…" She gave him another look and a blush that made his stomach turn. "I was... distracted."

Ib started to pull away again, biting her lip against the pain as silent tears fell from her blood red eyes. 

"I really… I hate to hurt them… I just want to make all the pain go away." Her foot landed on Ib's ankle pinning her down. "Don't run child. It'd kill me to have to cut your legs off."

"DON'T!" Garry screamed, grabbing his hair, not knowing what to do. Was there anything he could do. He couldn't believe it was happening, it had to be a dream, anything! "Let her go! Please! You-You want me: I'll stay. Let her go and I'll do anything you want! Anything! Just let her go!"

"Garry!" Ib cried.

Aya's amusement returned. "You'd rather her leave forever? Stumble, like this, all the way to town on her broken feet? If she could even make it. How cruel…"

"She can make it; just let her go. You have my word that I'll stay!" Not that his promises seemed to mean much these days. 

Aya pondered that for a moment. "It will be rather hard to get you back into your cell if something happens to her…" She smiled. "Let it not be said that I'm unfair. Fine. I'll let her go." Garry smiled with relief. "However, how do I know you won't run after I let her leave?" She pointed to a cabinet. "There. Top shelf. It's a muscle relaxant. It should do perfectly."

Garry closed his eyes for a moment before walking over and grabbing one of the last needles. God, he hated needles. "How do I know you'll let her go?" He asked, unable to hide the fear in his trembling voice.

"You don't." She answered. "You have your choices."

"Wait, please!" Ib cried.

Garry closed his eyes. He wanted to say something to her. "I'm sorry." He said as he jabbed the needle into his skin. The effects were instantaneous. A second later, he stumbled back against the counter. Ib screamed him name in a terrified voice and he thought- he knew- it had all been pointless. Still he hoped… and he hoped as the world spun and he fell to the ground and it all went dark again.

… … … … … 

Garry thought he would have to get used to the feeling of the stone floor. He waited a few minutes for his vision to clear and rubbed his bare arms, to try to ease the cold. He would have to get used to that too. He wondered if Aya had let Ib go. He wondered if Ib could make it down the mountain safely in her condition. If she did, she would send someone for him, but he was sure Aya had some trick up her sleeve. Maybe she would throw him in his car and they'd drive away. Who knew. 

The world began to settle again, but as he gazed around his new home he saw a familiar red just beyond the bars. 

"I-Ib!" He stumbled over and dropped down again, staring at the girl just visible in the candle light left burning on the table. "Ib! Why are you here!? Aya didn't let you go!?"

Ib didn't answer. She sat, silent on the chair, wearing that nice new red sundress her mother had apparently cheap enough to go "play fisherman in," and the matching hat that probably cost more then his last pay check. On her feet, were the little black shoes. Someone had washed away the blood and combed her hair to sit perfectly still, framing her face. And she wore a soft expression, different from her usual blankness, as she stared straight ahead, not seeming to hear him at all. 

"Ib…" He repeated with a nervous laugh, ignoring the stillness of her body. "Please, say something…." He reached through the bars, hoping he was wrong. She didn't notice. She didn't even blink. "Ib, plea-… IB!"

She didn't move, she didn't flinch. 

Garrys arm fell to the ground. "No…" The tears filled his eyes before he could even allow himself to understand what had happened. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…!" He dropped his head into his arms. "…I failed… I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry…!" He sobbed heavily. "I'm so sorry!"

Ib just stared ahead, unmoving and lifeless and Garry shook with sorrow in his cell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would love to get comments this time. Tell me what you think.


	3. We're All Mad Here

She was gone. 

He cried. He sobbed. He screamed.

He screamed and screamed, tears streaming down his face. He yelled every mean, hurtful, threatening thing that he could think of down the hall, hoping that bitch doctor would hear him. When he was done he cried again. 

He didn't know what to do. He thought he was going to die from the pain and fear alone. He couldn't bear it. He couldn't stand to look at the little girl that he'd brought to that horrible place. He also couldn't stand to look away. She just smiled at him. Little Ib, so brave and smart, still after all that, still trapped with him. Her eyes stared right ahead but they were so lifeless, glossed over like painted red glass. He hated to see them, hated to scream and not see the slightest flinch in their depths, knowing she was completely gone. 

He was trapped and he needed her and she was gone. 

He rocked himself, sobbing into his knees, clutching his arms to try to protect himself from the cold, trying to curl in away from the pain. He was so cold.

He cried and screamed until his throat felt raw and his sounds dissolved into hiccups. His eyes burned and his head throbbed. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't do anything. He was a failure. He let her die. He was the reason she was dead. 

The candle dimmed, the wick on it's last breath. It flickered as he rubbed his face, clammy with tears. He knew the weak light would plunge him into an unescapable darkness, but he was too broken to care. He just wanted Ib to come back. 

When the light finally suffocated, the dark was almost a reprieve from the sight of the girl he loved. He curled up on the icy floor, now trying to hide from the darkness that surrounded him. 

Ib had never been afraid of the dark. 

He didn't cry much longer, broken and weak, he didn't notice when he drifted off to sleep. 

… … … … … 

The second day, Garry dissolved into panic. 

He was thirsty. His throat was dry and he'd cried so hard the day before. Hunger clawed, starting at his side and trailing over his abdomen. He was still exhausted. He'd only slept until the hunger and thirst had gotten the best of him. He wondered if that was how that bitch doctor planned to kill him. 

Turning towards Ib, he thought it was better then he deserved. 

It was the same day, although he was already beginning to lost track of time in the completely dark room, when a new candle appeared down the hall.

Garry scowled as Aya stopped at the table across from his cell. "You're a lier. A murdering bitch!" He yelled, flinching as Ib came back into view. She was just a doll but it hurt to look at her. 

Aya ignored him pointedly, putting a plate and cup of food and water near his cell. He lunged, trying to grab her through the bars. He didn't know what he'd do if he caught her. He'd always been a non-aggressive person but… He wanted her to hurt! He wanted revenge for what she did to Ib; for whatever she was planning to do to him. 

She was too quick, pulling back out of reach. So he smacked the plate, knocking everything over, snarling at her. "Fuck you! You killed her!" 

The women didn't respond. She picked up the plate, empty glass and old candle, and walked away. 

It didn't take long before he regretted it. He was so thirsty. But he couldn't. He would die there just to spite her! He wouldn't take anything from her! 

The next day, he wasn't as strong. He woke up out of a fitful sleep to a new candle and a glass of water. He couldn't resist, but he hurled it down the hall as best he could, heard it shatter, hoped she stepped in it. The food he avoided for as long as he could manage before he lost his will power and took a bite. It was fish. He wondered if she'd found his car. He wondered if it was the fish he'd caught with Ib. 

He nibbled on it for a while, before he started to feel sick and got rid of it. What was he doing? He looked at Ib. He thought of how scared she must have been, what that witch must have done to her. 

His stomach twisted and he ran to the corner, throwing it up, sobbing again. 

It was another two days before Aya returned. 

… … … … … 

Garry didn't answer when the doctor greeted him. He wondered how long it had been. Maybe a couple of weeks. Maybe a couple of months. Days? Did it matter? He was laying on the stone, facing the wall, wishing he was anywhere else. He didn't have the energy to yell at her anymore. 

Behind him, he could hear her placing his food by the cell. He'd lost all strength to not eat. Sometimes he got sick, but more often he could keep it down. He felt horrible, but maybe she would forgive him his weakness. She had always been the strong one. 

The dishes made a dull sound. Aya had switched to wooden plates and cups after Garry had taken a glass shard and slit his wrist. It had hurt; the type of sharp dulling pain he'd always been afraid of. Yet, the blood flowing down his arm and pooling over the stone was the most satisfying feeling. He'd smiled. He'd grinned like a madman. He'd been filled with hope as he became lightheaded, slumping back against the walls. Fuck that bitch; he won. 

But she was a doctor. He'd woken up in his cell, cuts stitched up. He rubbed his wrist, feeling hungry and weak. She wouldn't even give him a fork anymore. 

Aya replaced his candle, humming a melody he had begun to recognize. Something she sang when she was in a good mood. "Some policemen came by today."

Garry almost sat up, the thought of cops inspiring a foolish optimism, before he relaxed back into the floor feeling stupid. She waited for a response, still humming along. 

"They came in. I made them tea." She laughed, "They weren't interested in looking around. Not that they would have found anything. I'm very careful." Garry rubbed his arms, trying to escape the cold that had imprinted itself on his bones. "They were looking for a girl. Said she'd been kidnapped."

Garry winced. Her parents would think that. They must be so worried…

"They found the kidnappers car half a state away, but they had a tip, someone had seen the car heading up this mountain some weeks ago." She laughed slightly. "I do hope they find her."

Garry curled in a little anger swelling in his chest. Why couldn't she just go away? What did she want?

There was more silence, then "What about you, Ib? What do you think about-?"

Garry pushed himself up, glaring at her through the darkness. "Shut up! Don't say her name! Don't talk to her!"

Aya smiled at him warmly and Garry scowled curling back into himself. He'd played right into her hand. Aya began humming again, her dress swishing along, as she took the old candle and head back down the hallway. 

… … … … … 

He fleet like an animal in a cage. Trapped. Kept. Ill-nourished and weak. Some days he would scream until his throat was raw, others he would sit still, counting the seconds until his next scarce meal, dying of thirst. 

Somedays he would start hearing things; seeing them. People screaming. His parents. Strange music, broken and trembling. Mary calling his name. Once he found himself screaming in the corner, thinking Ib had turned to him, blood poring from her eyes and neck. 

Sometimes he curled up close to the bars and whispered stories to her, just to have a reason to talk, just to hear a voice that didn't hurt him. 

One day Aya had been cleaning up the food he'd dumped on the floor too close to his cell. She'd thought he was sleeping. He grabbed her dress, pulled her against the bar, wrapped his arm around her neck. The thrill that filled him when she started to choke almost scared him. He demanded the key without loosening his grip, but he underestimated her strength and overestimated his own. She stuck him with something sharp, digging it deep into his arm until he screamed and she was able to escape. 

"Bitch! Evil- Slut! Whore! Cunt!" He snarled out the words with as much anger and hatred as he could. He hated her so fucking much, he didn't care what he said! "I hope you die! I hope I get to kill you!"

Schooling her expression, the witch brushed off her dress, took Ib and stormed away, leaving him alone in the dying light. 

Garry sank down into the corner, thinking about his failure. He was relived that he didn't have to look at the immortalized corpse of little Ib. Her eyes were so empty. Still, he couldn't help but worry. What if Aya destroyed her? She'd already murdered her and turned her body into a doll. Would it be beyond her to brutalize Ib's remains just to punish him? 

He paced around his cell, just barely kept upright by his fear. He didn't think he could handle it if Aya returned with just her head- or a pile of limbs-! If his body still wasted food, he would have gotten sick again. 

He ended up back at the bars, screaming "Don't hurt her!" down the hallway. Within a few hours he was crying his apology, begging her to come back, promising never to do it again. 

Aya brought her back in one perfect piece and Garry cried with relief. 

… … … … … 

Ib wasn't his only punishment. 

When he became too weak to move Aya began feeding him everyday. When he was good, or at least not misbehaving, his food was normal. Bad behavior lead to food laced with something. He knew there was something wrong with it when his hallucinations became worse. His nightmare stared to come to life before him. There was fire, paint, knives and saws. Blood everywhere. He hated those days. 

Other days bad behavior meant no food at all. She wanted him to talk to her. It was hard to disobey her but he tried. When he said something she didn't like she would bring him something he couldn't bring himself to eat. Meat crawling with maggots, small animals with broken limbs, still living but unable to escape. Cups filled with blood from an unknown source. 

She would serve him things to hurt him or make him ill. The cold became almost unbearable when he laid on the stones feverish and trembling. Whenever the candle flickered out, he was left in complete darkness, unable to see anything around him. 

Once she'd released rats and dogs into the halls. He didn't notice until something crawled over him. He screamed. Something snarled. He lunged away from the bars as something barked and attacked the bars. His hands landed on a rat that bit him and he cried, screamed, trying to hide, pretending they weren't there as they crawled over his bare feet and brushed his legs. 

He learned that Aya took other prisoners. He quickly learned not to talk to them. Aya didn't like it when he talked to them. When he'd heard the other voice screaming in the dark he'd almost cried. 'Help me! Someone!' He'd called her. Her name was Anna. She was scared. He didn't know how long it had been since he'd heard another persons voice. 

She wanted him to help her. He just wanted to talk. He was knew he scared her. He told her he'd been there for a long time. He told her what she did to Ib. She cried. She told him about her family, who she hadn't seen in a long time. She told him about her sickness. He would have helped her. He told her it would be hard, but Aya hadn't killed him yet, maybe she would be ok. 

He woke to her screaming. Aya had her strapped to a table outside his cell. She smiled, swinging her knife. Garry screamed. Anna screamed. Aya made the first cut. 

Garry cried in the corner. Anna kept screaming. 

"I hate to waste such a pretty face…" Aya purred. Anna screamed again. She begged him to help. He kept his eyes closed and rocked himself. 

He didn't want to talk to the others any more. He promised not to talk to the others anymore. But she wanted him to see her pretty dolls. 

… … … … … 

The humming alerted him to her presence. He scrambled to the bars. A new light appeared and Aya was there replacing his candle. Garry waited silently, just waited. 

"Good morning." She said. 

"Is it morning?" He asked. The women laughed. He watched the food, clutching his side, brushing his long hair back so he could see better. 

"How are you?"

"Starving."

She smiled widely. "I've got food. I can make that all better." She placed the plate in front of him on the ground. He attacked it, eating quickly. "How is Ib?"

Garry looked at the still girl in her chair. "She talked again. She doesn't like the basement. She thinks it's cold."

Aya frowned and Garry flinched. When Aya frowned, he was punished. His heart started pounding. "Sorry!" He squeaked. "Sorry! T-Thank you. For the food. It's delicious."

Aya froze before a twisted smile broke across her face, but Garry felt safe. She took his dishes and walked off.

He worried, panicked, but sat in the darkness, talking to Ib and playing with the shadows. That night she brought him a hot stew, with vegetables and meat and a blanket. For the first time he was ably to get warm again. He laughed, feeling happy for the first time since he took Ib fishing. Even her soft gaze didn't stir his guilt and he thought she was smiling for him. He felt asleep, warm, full, and finally free of the cold stone. 

… … … … … 

The rewards didn't tame him instantly. He continued to act out, but it never took long before he started talking to her again, wanting to be 'good'. He received things to finally clean his cell and a book to read. It wasn't a good book, but it was pure relief in those long hours upon hours upon hours of nothing. After time, she chained him up, for his own safety, and gave him a bath. He was uncomfortable in front of her, but the hot water made him cry. He scrubbed himself down until his skin felt raw and clean and Aya washed the oils out of his hair. He even got a towel. When he dried off, she gave him clean clothes and a tie to pull back his hair. 

He thanked her profusely for the nice treatment. 

As his meals became better and more frequent, his withered body started holding substance again, his sunken eyes began to fill out and his strength began to return. As his strength returned, his sanity fled. It wasn't long before he became content, trapped in his little cell with his book and his Ib. She was always there for him. And Aya… Aya took care of him. 

He didn't even notice he'd lost his mind. 

Aya did. She hummed as she walked down the hall, smiling brightly when Garry scrambled to the bars. "Good morning Aya!" He called, returning her warm look. 

Aya sat down beside his cell, knowing she was perfectly safe. He looked well. He was clean, fit and well-fed. She kept him well. The only sign of his two year imprisonment was his abnormally pale complexion and his wide-eyed child-like stare. 

"How are you today?"

He handed her a picture, his smile not faltering. "I drew a picture."

It was a drawing of herself, him and Ib standing outside, enjoying the sun. It was well done, considering how depleted his crayon box was. She would cherish it, like she did with everything he made her. Garry grinned wider, going on about the other picture he'd drawn, this time for Ib, and the new book she'd given him. Aya listened encouraging, for a few minutes before reaching out to touch his hand. He stopped instantly, waiting like a well trained puppy. 

"Garry." She said softly, lifting his hand and threading their fingers together. "Would you like to come out?"

He looked startled, then nervous. "I… I don't know. Can I? Could I leave the basement? Could I go outside?"

She took a moment, testing him. "I think, we could probably do that." 

His whole face lit up. "Outside! That would be wonderful!" He looked back at the young girl in her chair, beside his makeshift bed. "Ib! Aya says we can go outside! Oh! Aya, Aya! Ib… she can come with me, can't she?"

"Of course," She said with a laugh, standing up and taking a key out of her pocket. "I'd never leave Ib down here all on her own. She's your most precious doll."

Garry scooped up Ib gently, always careful not to hurt her. Aya had allowed him to keep her in his cell half-way through his second year. Not that he knew. It felt like he'd been there an eternity. When the cage door swung open, he paused before it. He was nervous. What if this was a trick? What if the world had changed? What if he'd changed?

Aya held out her hand. "Garry?"

Carefully he stepped past the bars and let her touch his arm comfortingly. "Are you sure this is ok?"

"Yes. When am I wrong?" She took her candle and started right off. Garry stayed right on her heels, afraid of being left in the dark. The hall was as he remembered it. 

They passed through the operating room. There was a form underneath the cloth, but he thought nothing of it admiring the way things had changed. It had been so long since he'd seen anything other than the things in his cell. She led him down the doll hall and he smiled, greeting them like they might be friends of Ibs. 

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Garry's breath left him at his first glimpse of sunlight through the window above. 

"Oh god-" He gasped, carefully clutching the girl he was holding. 

Aya looked at him sadly. "Oh Garry… I hate that I had to keep you down here so long." She took his arm carefully, guiding him. "Come on…"

Upstairs, the warmth of the house filled him. The light pored through the windows to cover every warm wooden surface. The air was heavy and he choked on his own excitement. 

Aya opened the backdoor and moved to let him out. 

The sun on his face, the blue sky, the green trees, it was all so bright it hurt his eyes but he burst out laughing. "Amazing! It's so beautiful!" He found a sunny place to lay Ib where she could enjoy the sun, then threw himself on the grass and rolled around joyfully. 

He ran as fast as he could around the edge of the field, climbing up in one of the trees in the yard and spent some time just jumping up and down until he was tired. When he was finished, he ran up the stairs to where Aya was watching from the doorway. 

"This is amazing, Aya, thank you! This is even better then I remember."

Aya smiled and closed her eyes, tilting her head back. 

Garry smiled and gave her a kiss, like she expected. 

"I'm glad you're happy." She took his hands. "Now, I don't want to upset you, but when night comes you and Ib will go back downstairs." She watched the hurt and fear cover his face. 

"Did I do something wrong? I'm so sorry. I didn't mean too! Can't we stay? I promise I'll be good."

"Hey now, shh… It's nothing you did. I'll bring you up in the morning. If you're a good boy, I'll let you sleep upstairs with me, ok? And you'll never have to go back in that cell again."

"Never!?" He asked excitedly. 

She kissed his forehead. "Well, as long as your good. Go on and play with Ib. I'll make us some lunch." Gary nodded, running back to the field, while Aya went to the kitchen.

All around him was open space, edged by trees, and Ib's body right where he'd left her. Deep, deep down, some part of him thought about grabbing Ib and running her home. Maybe they would believe him about Aya. Maybe they would catch her. Maybe they wouldn't. Maybe they would blame him. Maybe he would be locked up again, but he would escape and Ib would return home, receive a proper burial. 

Another part of him didn't think about leaving. 

Honestly, he knew he couldn't do it. Aya would catch them. Maybe she'd hurt Ib and he would definitely have to go back into his cell, maybe forever that time. 

No. He was happy.

He was happy. 

… … … … … 

Aya screamed, her voice rooting down through the stone till it reached the doll hall, where Garry sat patently, shaking, but silent. He was sitting behind Ib, carefully combing her hair and separating it into parts. He was going to do some braiding. The screaming continued, as it had been since Aya sent him down there. 

He didn't mind the dolls that sat around him, the remains of other patents like Ib. It had been almost a year since she'd let him out and he was well adjusted. He was used to the dolls, he helped Aya take care of them sometimes. He would hide in the bedroom when new patents came. He was good and Aya rewarded him for it. 

The screaming did nothing for his nerves, but he wasn't surprised. He could hear the screaming of new patents from the bedroom sometimes, so it only made since that he heard the screams of the young women right above him. He couldn't hear the women talking to him, but he did know that he was happy when the screams stopped. 

Still he waited. Aya had told him it would be hours before he could come back up. He had a lunch. He felt guilty not sharing the delicious leftovers Aya had packed him with Ib, but he knew she couldn't eat anymore. He had his book, something fun. He loved to read, since he wasn't allowed to go anywhere anymore. It was fine, he was used to being stuck in the dark just waiting for his loving Aya to let him come out. 

When the bell hanging in the hall rang, the sun was almost set. Garry had to carry Ib, with her hair done up in exciting braids, in one hand and his lantern in the other, to the bedroom upstairs. He was careful, incase the nurse was still there and it was a mistake, but no one else seemed to be in the house. 

He peaked into the room. "Aya?" He called gently. Aya was sitting up on their bed, supported by pillows. In her arms was a small pink bundle. "Did you finish having your baby?"

Aya looked at him, her humming stopping in a way that made him shrink back, thinking she was mad. Her hair was plastered to her face, and her eyes were dark. "Our baby." She corrected sharply, then made a sharp hand motion, calling him over. 

Garry stepped into the room and placed the lantern on the side table, moving little-by-little until he was at her side. "Our baby." He repeated, a little confused. It was so hard to understand certain things after his imprisonment. But it didn't matter. There was a baby now. 

Aya held out the baby so he could see. She touched the little purple tuffs of hair on the newborns soft head. It was much darker then his, probably because of her hair, but it was purple. The babes round face stayed still, unawakened by the noise or touch. "Look, she even has your hair color."

"It's a girl?" Garry asked, surprised. She had been so sure. 

"Unfortunately." Aya's voice indicated that she agreed with something he wasn't thinking. "But it's fine. I know you've always wanted a daughter."

"My daughter…" He repeated slowly. "Look, Ib… You have a sister!" He held her up to see the baby better. "I bet you want to hold her, but we'd better not do that."

"Would you like to hold her?" Aya asked, lifting the child towards him slightly. 

Garry stepped back, pulling Ib closer to himself, almost like a shield. "No! No, that's ok." Aya shrugged, going back to humming her song. "…What's her name?"

Aya paused again, softer the second time. "Oh… I didn't think of any girl names." She sighed. "How about Maria?"

Garry frowned, thinking of Aya's precious doll downstairs. "She doesn't look like Maria."

Aya observed her. "No. You're right, she doesn't. She doesn't look like my mother either. How about yours?" Garry shook his head. "Nobody? I suppose we need a new name." She reached for the book that was on her side table and flipped it open. "Ellen. How about Ellen?"

Garry hesitated for a moment that took too long before he shrugged. "Um, do you like it?"

She simply nodded, the moment quick but dispassionate. "Yes. It's a pretty name."

"Then I like it!" Garry hugged the girl in his arms tightly. "It starts with a vowel. Just like you and Ib,"

Aya smiled warmly as the baby began to stir. "Yes it does." She touched the babies face softly. "Hello baby Ellen."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eeeeeeee~! And there you go! Aya and Garry are Ellens father. Now, I came up with this story last year, and I've been working on it since; I only learned about The Witches House backstory… three days ago… So this is based ONLY on the game.


	4. What A Strange World We Live In

**"Today, Daddy took that doll fishing.**   
  
**I stayed home."**   


**xx/xx/xx**


Everything was silent in the operating room. There was never any noise in the operating room. It was important for everything to be quiet; good little girls were always quiet. Ellen didn't do much except squirm in her seat impatiently. It had felt like it'd been hours. 

"Aya!" Came the startling noise as the door flew open and there stood Garry, smiling and happy from his little trip. "We're home~!"

Aya froze, her knife inches from a very delicate part of her patients face. Her eyes narrowed sharply, but otherwise she didn't move. "Garry, darling, I told you that I'm busy today. You know how I hate being interrupted during surgery." 

Garry beamed, not minding the scolding. He never minded the scoldings. Even when Aya was really mad, he just smiled and agreed with her. "We caught a real haul today. The fish were really biting."

Aya looked closely at the face she was working on, before sighing and placing the scalpel on the tray, turning to him. "Welcome home, Dear."

Ellen twisted in the tall chair. "Hi Daddy!"

"Ellen, sit still." Aya scolded, as Garry smiled at her. 

"Hi Ellen. Aya, can you come change Ib? You know how she feels about me doing it."

Aya turned back, waving off her husband and grabbing a towel to wipe off her hand, before plunging it into the exposed stomach of the patent. "Honey, I really need to finish this. You know my work is time sensitive." She pulled out something red and squishy, which Ellen knew immediately was the intestines. "Can it wait?"

Her father turned pale, then a tint of green, pulling himself back into the doorway. Why he always came down there when he knew what Aya was doing, Ellen never understood. Still, there he was, shaking at the mere sight of viscera. "N-No… I mean, no, it doesn't need to be… It's nothing that need to interrupt your project. I'll… go." 

Ellen watched her father run off, terrified, before turning to her mother who chuckled her eyes shinning with endearment. She dropped the squishy flesh and wiped off her hands again, this time staining the white towel with a deep red. "Ellen, why don't you take a break and go help your father."

Ellen frowned. It wasn't really a question and it wasn't like she really wanted to stay down there watching her mothers boring surgery, but she didn't really want to do it. Still, she pulled herself to the end of the chair and dropped about a foot to the ground. "Yes Mommy." She said, hoping to be praised. Aya was too busy with her doll. 

Sad, the little girl climbed up the stairs to the main room, and hurried to the dolls bedroom. It was the room in the center, with no windows. The bedrooms were newer then the rest of the house, although they had long since lost their new feel, Although Ellen didn't notice. She just stepped into the doorway and peered inside. "Daddy? Which dress?"

Her father looked up at her, his face lighting up in a way that made her feel loved. "Ellen! What a good girl. Come in." Ellen approached, looking at the doll on the bed as he rushed to the wardrobe and pulled out a dress, handing it too her. "Would you change her into this one? You know how she feels about me changing her clothes."

Ellen frowned. "It's just a doll."

Garry flushed. "Wha… What a terrible thing to say about your sister! Ib, she doesn't mean that. Why! Elle, calling Ib just a doll, is like calling you just a girl! You are not just a girl. You're a very special girl." 

Ellen flushed, looking down at her shoes with a smile. 

"And Ib," Garry told her, laying Ib down comfortably on the bed. "Ib is a very special doll." 

Something about the way he smiled at the doll made Ellen sad. But she ignored it, holding up the dress against herself and spinning to the vanity mirror. It was lovely. The fabric was soft under her hand and the dress lined up against her perfectly. She liked the dress she was wearing but red was so pretty. She would look beautiful in red. 

"Why can't I wear this dress, Daddy?"

"Because that's Ib's dress." Her father answered, like it was obvious. 

Ellen frowned. "But I like it. I want a red dress. I want to be pretty like Ib."

Garry frowned, before getting up and kneeling next to her. "Ellen, are pretty already." He took the dress out of her hand and looked at her in the mirror. "See?"

Ellen frowned looking at her reflection. She looked sad, she thought. "No…"

Garry frowned, then rubbed her head. "Well, I think you're pretty. And you don't need a red dress to be pretty." He took the dress and placed it back on the bed. "You look very pretty in the dresses Aya made for you."

It wasn't that her father liked the clothes that Aya made for her, it was that Red was Ib's color and she wasn't allowed to wear it. Ellen wasn't allowed any of the nice dresses that her mother made for the doll, because she was Daddy's favorite. She knew that, but she made herself smile for her father like she believed him and he smiled back. 

"I'll be right back." He told the doll before leaving the room. 

Once he was gone, Ellen took the dress again and held it to herself. It was so beautiful. She wanted it so badly. She twirled, watching the red spin with her. If she could just wear a dress like that, she knew that her parents would love her. She would be beautiful…

"Are you almost done?" Garry called. 

Ellen scowled, before throwing the dress down and yanking the clothing off the doll as hard as she could manage, somehow hoping to provide the corpse with some kind of pain. Ib got to wear the pretty dresses. All of the dolls got to wear the pretty dresses. All the dolls got her parents attention. All they talked about were the dolls! She wanted to be pretty! She wanted their attention! She was a good girl! She did everything they wanted and still all they ever talked about was the stupid dolls! 

When she finally managed to get the dress all tied up, she took a step back. She hated the doll, but she was beautiful and her father would be pleased with her. She opened the door and Garry stood waiting eagerly, like a child. 

"Finished? Oh good!" He rubbed her head as he passed, making Ellen beam with pride. "Your sister is so good to you, Ib." He picked her up, straighter out her dress a little before setting her at the vanity and started brushing her hair. Ellen picked up a brush and did her own. 

"Do you think that Aya's been acting strange lately?" Garry asked after a minute, having moved on to trying to work out a braid. Ellen batted away his hands and did it herself. 

"No, why?" 

He looked startled and Ellen looked away. He hadn't been talking to her anymore. "Well… I think she seems strange." He smiled suddenly. "Ellen, how old are you?"

"I'm seven, Daddy. My birthday was last month." 

"Almost the same age as Ib…" He whispered. Ellen waited patently for him to continue, but if he had a reason for asking that question he didn't elaborate. Instead he just handed Ellen a bow for Ib's hair and watched as she finished off the braid. 

…………

At lunch time, Ellen always made sure to eat her vegetables first so that her mother would praise her. Most days she asked for seconds, even though she didn't like them. It didn't always work. In fact, the more she did it, the less her mother seemed to praise her and Aya was exceptionally distracted. She was humming and swaying at the counter and when Ellen asked for seconds Aya just put her plate next to the sink. Garry was chatting away with the dead-eyed doll at the table, so Ellen got more herself. 

"Aya seems so happy lately." Garry said, eating everything that Ib didn't like off her plate, which seemed to be everything since she became a doll he would say sometimes. 

Aya laughed, finishing the last of her clean up. "I am. And would you like to know why?" Garry nodded eagerly, but Ellen just continued eating. She didn't really care what it was if it made her mother so distracted. "I'm pregnant!"

Ellen dropped her fork. 

Garry took a moment to recover from the sudden outburst. "Another baby?" He said cautiously, not sharing in his wife's excitement. "Congratulations." He went back to eating. 

She barely seemed to notice. "Yes. Another baby. A boy this time." She touched her stomach. "I know it."

Ellen gasped, feeling her lungs harden inside her making it hard to breath. Aya continued, she already knew what to name him. A boy would be much more help in the lab. Garry continued with his food. Neither noticed as Ellen clutched her chest and labored to breath. Finally she began to cough, so violently her whole body shook with it. She pushed herself out of the chair tumbling to the floor as her weak legs failed to support her. She began to crawl, trying to escape her parents, her life, everything. 

She only made it about an foot or so before she was scooped up by her father. He put her against his shoulder and patted her back firmly as he carried her to her room. There her mother put a cool wet cloth over her forehead and brought her medicine. The attention was nice, but hard to appreciate while she felt like she was dying. 

Eventually the fit passed and she closed her eyes, feeling exhausted. She hated being sick. It mad Aya mad with her. She couldn't play outside. She couldn't get out of bed. She hated being sick. More than she hated the dolls. More than she hated being ignored. She hated her own body. 

"She's sick again?" She heard Garry whisper. She tried to tell them she was still awake, but she was too tired to move. 

"Not 'again'," Aya said with a pitying sigh. "She's weak like my mother was. She would get sick like this a lot when I was young." She crossed her arms, looking away. "Ellen seems to have it even worse… She will probably end up bedridden for life before she even turns fifteen." 

Garry nodded, looking out the door to the doll waiting for him in the kitchen. "Will you make her into a doll? Like Ib?"

"No." Aya dismissed immediately, before snapping her mouth closed. "I mean, I love her. I do. But I don't think I will. She won't be able to leave, so it's fine." She left the room, her husband following her out. "It's fine."

Once the door closed, Ellen rolled to her side, tears burning her eyes. Sick forever. Bedridden. And her mother, who didn't even love her enough to preserve her and save her from her suffering. It was because she wasn't beautiful. 

Trapped and unloved. 

…………

Mother often told the story of how her father loved her so much that he tried to turn her into a doll. She always said that though she loved her father, she was afraid and had ran away. She talked about how Maria had saved her and took her away to live her own life and now she tried to make it up to him by continuing his work. 

Ellen wasn't afraid. Aya had told her that story for so long that she looked forward to becoming a doll, to finally having her father and mother love her like they loved Ib and Maria and all the dolls in the hallway down stairs. She would finally be able to wear those pretty clothes. She would be able to go out with Daddy, fishing or camping instead of being stuck in her room. 

Now, she had nothing. A lifetime of pain and hatred. Stuck in the shadow of that doll. 

Ellen opened the door and looked at the mindless toy laying in it's own bed. It was weird that it got it's own bed. Weird that it got it's own room. Weird that it got all of the nice clothing. Weird that it got all of her parent's love and affection when it should have been her! She wanted it! Ib hadn't even wanted to be a doll, but she did! She wanted the attention. She wanted Daddy to brush her hair, and Mother to make her beautiful dresses, that she couldn't damage because she couldn't play anymore. She wanted their love. That was all she wanted. 

She took Ib by the hair and threw the doll on the floor. It was so pretty with it's pretty little smile and it's pretty little face. "Stupid doll." She kicked it but the dolls expression didn't change and she got angrier. She kicked it into the wall but still nothing. "Ugly doll."

Furious, she reached into her pocket for the knife she'd gotten from Aya for her birthday. Sitting down on Ib's legs she plunged the blade into the dolls stomach. The blade piercing flesh with more difficultly then she'd expected, despite knowing how her mother had made her. 

"Ugly Doll!" She screamed angrily, pulling and yanking until she ripped a wide clear hole in the dolls stomach. She stabbed the dolls heart, feeling bone break under her as she put all her weight into it. 

"Ellen?" Garry called, opening the door having heard Ellen scream from the other room. His eyes widened with horror, parts of his fragile mind still able to break even after all that time, but Ellen didn't notice. She simply raised the knife again, aiming for one soft, pretty eye. 

"ELLEN NO!" Garry shrieked, grabbing her arm, barely registering that it brought the knife closer to him as he pulled it from Ib. Ellen screamed angrily, kicking and punching as Garry pulled her off. 

"Let Go! LET GO!" He shook her arm as she screamed and clawed at him with her free hand.

"Ellen! Drop it!" He shook her violently until the knife came free of her hand and dropped to the floor. Immediately he tossed her carelessly onto the bed. He grabbed the knife, which he would put somewhere out of reach until Aya scolded him, and picked up Ib running out the door. "Aya!" He screamed, "Aya! Help!"

Ellen screamed after him but it quickly turned into a cough and she collapsed trying to get off of the bed. She reached for the door, but she couldn't call for help. The coughing racked her body and she could do nothing but submit to her fit.

…………

Aya opened the door to make sure that Ellen was sleeping soundly. The girl was supposed to be punished for her actions, but this soon after her fit it was too risky. She was worried for her health. She closed the door. 

"She's asleep." Aya said, returning to Ib's room where Garry was observing the new stitches on Ib's stomach. He looked at Aya, his anger quite visible, before he lowered the shirt and stroked the dolls hair, tucking her into bed. 

Aya sighed, walking around him to sit on the edge of the bed. This wouldn't do. She couldn't have Garry being mad. But still, he was easily tamed now. It would be fine. "I don't know what's gotten into her. Why would she do this? Doesn't she like my dolls?"

Garry scowled, pulling away as she tried to pet his hair. "What a terrible thing to do."

Aya frowned, "Honey. I fixed it. She's all better now."

Garry looked at her, but his eyes were distant. "Yes. Thank you, Aya."

She smiled. "I always fix it. Don't I?" She reached up and he didn't move when she ran her fingers through his hair. "But still… I don't understand. How could she call my dolls 'ugly'? I never make ugly dolls. I take such pains to show her beauty. I try to show her how important it it to preserve such beauty-! She never seems interested." Gary continued to observe Ib, not paying attention. "Garry!"

He jumped and she noticed that she'd grabbed his hair sharply. "Y-Yes?"

She scowled, drooping her hand and looking away. "It must be your genes. She doesn't take after my father at all."

"My fault?" He repeated, weakly. 

She stood up quickly, her hands clenched. "Yes!" She glared at him. "Yes, it must be! You don't encourage her! My mother was always supportive, but you hate my work! Why don't you encourage her? Why don't you… read her those books I bought!?"

Garry looked around nervously, not meeting her eye. He squirmed like he wanted to hide, but he didn't move. He knew better then to run. "I don't hate you work. But I don't like those books. They're too violent for children." 

"I picked them out for her!" She screeched and Garry cringed. "It's your fault! And now it's too late!"

Garry curled away, shivering. "Aya-… I-I'm sorry- I'll try harder-"

"It's too late! Shell never be like my father!"

"Aya-?!"

"Stop!" She held up both hands. "Go to bed. Now. I need to be alone." Garry glanced at Ib. He didn't want to leave her alone after what had happened, but he was to well trained to disobey her. He got up, whispered 'goodnight' to them both and left. 

Aya threw herself onto the end of the bed and screamed in frustration. It was all worthless! She tried and tried, but it was like everything was against her. Ellen was worthless and she'd had another miscarriage. 

She rolled onto her back, touching her stomach. She couldn't have any other children. She knew it. It was the fourth time. All boys, she knew. She could have no children but the one daughter who was a disappointment. Maybe it was her mother. He mother tormenting her from the grave for not handing over her father. She felt tears in her eyes. She was failing. Who would carry on her fathers work when she was gone? 

"I'm so sorry…"

"What are you sorry for?"

Aya sat up startled, turning towards the open window and the man observing her. "Who are you!?" She cried before feeling silly. It had been many, many years, but she could never forget the pale fantom from her childhood. The pale man at the window hadn't seemed to have aged a day and he still wore a black suit. She couldn't help but be brought back to that day her whole life changed. She remembered her fathers laughter, her mothers anger, Maria's touch. "Oh, Ogre. I'm sorry." She wiped her eyes, hoping her tears weren't noticeable. "You startled me."

"Good evening, Mrs. Aya." He smiled, tipping his hat, his red eyes gleaming in the dark. "It has been a long time."

Aya smiled, charmed once again. "Mr. Ogre, it's so good to see you. Please come in."

"Oh no, I can't stay." Aya quickly stood up, moving to the window letting her disappointment show on her face. "I was just passing through. I thought I'd drop in to see how you'd faired after all these years." He held out a pale hand and took hers gently. His touch was colder then she'd though. "I expected to see you living happily. What is it that troubles you so?"

Aya held his hand tightly. He might have been strange, but he had been so much help to her as a child that she knew he was looking out for her. "It's… I can't…"

He smiled, but it only comforted her. "You don't have to say it if you don't want to, child." His eyes flick to her stomach. "I already know."

Aya touched her belly again. "You always did." She sighed. "I just… I wanted him back, I just…wanted to make him proud of me." Ogre nodded understanding. Aya hesitated, then tightened her hold on his hand. "Mr. Ogre… are you here… because of this? Can you help me?"

His smile remained charming and alluring. "I do think that I might have what you need. You do remember that I'm a salesman?" Aya held her breath. "It's a bit pricy. This will require more than just magic water. And I won't be able to promise a boy, or how they will turn out."

"But I could have another child?"

"I can promise another child."

Aya sighed, looking at him with gratitude. "Name the price. Anything." 

…………

Ellen didn't look up at her father when he woke up. She knew she had been bad, and she didn't want to see his disappointment. She was supposed to be a good girl at all times. She just sat in her chair eating breakfast while he called 'good morning' to them and disappeared into Ib's room. 

Ellen watched as her mother happily hummed and placed another bowl of porridge at the table. She was still excited about the baby. Ellen didn't want to think about it. She ate her porridge. It was sweet. 

"Ib?" There was a clatter from the room before Garry appeared in the doorway, pale and alone. "Aya-?" He asked, his voice cracking. "D-Did you move Ib?"

Aya brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, sitting down to her food. "No Dear, I haven't seen her since last night." 

HIs gaze turned to Ellen and hardened. Ellen sank into her chair. "Ellen…" He walked to the table. "Did you hide Ib?"

She hesitated. She hated the doll but she was already in trouble for breaking her. The last thing she wanted was for him to hate her. When Garry slammed his hands against the table she jumped. "No, Daddy!"

He glared, clearly not believing her. Angrily, he stormed past them into Ellen's room. He looked under the bed and yanked all the clothing out of her closet. After he finished with the big hiding places he ripped out the drawers of her dresser and knocked the books off her bookshelf, becoming more frantic and furious as he went. 

"Daddy, what are you doing!? I didn't take it!"

He ignored her, moving on to the rest of the house making a complete mess as he went. He turned everything over and went through every drawer and cabinet. He even searched his own room, despite having been in there since he last saw her. "Where did you hide her!" He started screaming. 

Frightened, Ellen hid behind her mothers skirt. Aya, on the other hand, remained perfectly calm, watching her husband destroy their house, allowing him his rage. It would be easiest to deal with him after he'd spent most of his energy and was tired. When he headed to the basement, she followed. 

It wasn't surprising when he knocked over one of the dolls, but it was going too far. Aya calmly cut off his screaming with a sharp slap that knocked his face to the side. 

Garry blinked. For a moment the pain seemed to break through the eternal daze he couldn't shake. He remembered a sharp slap from a small hand dragging him back from madness once before. He remembered tears. This time it was his tears as he looked at Aya. "Ib…" He crumpled to the floor. "Ib… Aya! I… I can't-!"

Aya moved to him, pulling him close. Garry grabbed her, holding her like his lifeline and cried against her skirt. HIs whole body began to shake with the sobs. All the built up tension from the last eight years he had been to oblivious to notice began to wear away. 

Aya shushed him, running her fingers through his soft hair. Her silly, gentle-hearted husband. She'd known he would hurt, but it had to be done. "My Darling… I can fix this. Remember what I said? I'll make everything better. I can fix this." Garry continued to cry, holding onto her tightly. 

"Daddy?" Ellen called from the top of the stairs where she'd stayed behind. He looked so hurt, crying like a child. "It wasn't me, Daddy." But as she spoke, he glared at her, his eyes lacking even a ounce of the usual kindness she saw there. "It wasn't me."

…………

Ellen was punished firmly, or as firmly as she could be in her condition. She received a few spankings and was given as many chores as she could handle, as well as an hour of corner time very time Garry threw a fit. Aya told her it was 'tough but fair' punishment for the mean thing she did to Daddy and it would stop as soon as she told them where she hid the doll. Ellen didn't know where the doll was and thought that it was not at all fair. But getting upset got her sent to bed early with only something yucky for dinner. 

Aya orchestrated the punishment, not sure what her poor husband would do. He on the other hand spent most of his time either in bed or digging up the yard looking for the missing doll. 

In her free time, knowing his efforts were frivolous, began working on a new doll. She had to take apart three other dolls, breaking her promise to them for eternal beauty. They would become part of a new beauty. She was willing to make that sacrifice when she began to see the change. There was something growing sharper in his eyes everyday that he couldn't find Ib. It was directed at Ellen most days, but sometimes it would shift to her. Somedays he seemed confused, like he didn't remember living there. 

Then one day she found him at the edge of their clearing gazing out with that sharpness. She realized that for all her torturous and manipulations, it was only Ib that had been keeping him there. There was a part of him that had already realized that he wasn't afraid of what she would do to him if he ran. Without Ib he didn't have anything left to lose. She would have to work faster. 

But she had trouble. It took weeks to carve the small skull into the right shape from memory, and the skin had to be carefully treated to look right. Everything came out perfect except for the eyes. It was the one thing she couldn't replicate and the thing that would most give away her deceit. Dyes and oils either didn't take or looked completely unnatural. She needed a pair of those rare red eyes. 

She kept the doll a secret, hiding her in the downstairs office. The longer she took to fulfill her promise the more distant he grew and the more she began to remind him what the world would think he'd done to the girl if he left, of the punishments for disobeying her. It only pushed him farther way. She feared the sanity in his eyes. 

Ellen grew cold as well. As her punishments continued, she stopped speaking to them. She stopped helping her mother in the dungeon when she could. She stopped asking to go fishing. Neither of her parent's noticed. 

The baby grew quickly in her belly. She began to show in a months time. Kicking by three. She was concerned, but the movement soothed her. Her baby was alive and she had one more chance to make things right. She would have a son, he would learn her work, her father's work, and she would finish Garry's doll. Then everything would be right again.

The baby came early, much to early to be natural but Aya was the only one to notice. Garry and Ellen stayed in the basement, out of sight while the nurse was there. Neither of them liked it. Garry stared at Maria most of the time, he did that a lot, just stare at things for a long time. Thinking. Aya said it made her nervous. Ellen didn't care. She wandered around, finally getting sometime to play by herself. 

When Aya called for them, Ellen followed her father upstairs. "Aya?" Garry asked when he opened the door. "Did you have your boy?" Ellen felt her lungs tighten. 

But Aya shook her head. She looked tightened, sweaty, but she smiled like not having a boy was the best thing in the world. She just hummed her song to the sleeping bundle. Garry and Ellen risked glancing at each other. 

They moved closer to the bed to look at the baby with thin brown hair. "Does… she look like your father?" He asked. 

Aya stopped singing. "Hm? Does she?" She asked in a strange tone they didn't recognize. She touched the baby's face. "Lets see if she'll wake up. Baby… Look at Daddy…" 

There was a tense pause before the baby opened bright red eyes. 

Garry gasped while Ellen stumbled back. Babies eye color took a while to settle, so it shouldn't be possible, but the infant's were an undeniable red. "Ib…! She looks like Ib…!"

"Ib." Aya purred, "Ib, is your name Ib, Baby? Did you come back because Garry was lonely without you?" Her husband fell to his knees and she smiled wickedly. It wasn't the child she wanted, but it was more than she could have hoped. She would do better with that one. This new Ib would have everything that she could want. Aya would be more subtle with her training, like her mother had with her. Ib would come to her work on her own. Ib would love her so much that if Garry every thought to leave again Ib would refuse. He would never be able to leave. Never again. "Would you like to hold her?"

Garry stood up immediately. "Yes! Yes… Please. Can I?" Aya held out the bundle and he took her with careful hands, holding her, cradling her head. "She's beautiful… Ib…" 

Aya relaxed into her pillow, watching the child chain him to her forever. "I told you. I'd fix it. I always make things better." Garry's eyes shown with love as he rocked the girl back and forth, promising her the world, to teach her all the big words, to keep her from scary places, to never let anything bad happen to her. 

Neither of them noticed as Ellen began to wheeze, then cough. Neither of them noticed as she ran from the room and collapsed in the living room, tears streaming down her face as she mourned and hated and accepted the new baby that she would always despise and the true loss of her parent's love. 

Aya simply closed her eyes and went back to humming her song, while Garry rocked little Ib, talking about their first fishing trip. 

…………

Ellen turned the page of her book reading the gruesome description of corpse-dressing with disinterest. A light breeze came through the window, thought she was not supposed to have it open. It was bad for her health. She didn't care. She could die now for all she cared, bored of her books and completely alone. She hated her body, hated her parents, hated her life. 

The baby was only a few weeks old and Ellen had already stood over her crib and wondered, if she was quick enough, if she could smother or choke or slit it's throat before her mother turned back around. She was sure it would get her killed but she would be happy just to take the little demon out with her. Her father hardly left the baby's side. Her mother was already making her beautiful red dresses that she could crawl around in. Neither of them looked at her anymore except to tell her when she was doing something wrong. 

She couldn't stand it anymore. She put the book on her lap and smelled the air. Outside the grass was green and the sky was endless and blue. She'd never been outside their little clearing, but she knew that there was a place for her somewhere out there. Somewhere where she could be free to play. Where no one would tell her what to do. She imagined a castle, where her friends could come and visit her. There would be toys and pets and music and laughter. She imagined being loved. 

"Hello, Miss."

Ellen jumped, startled by the voice. There in her window was a man, a strange one, in a suit smiling at her. She grabbed the blankets and pulled them up to her chin nervously. She considered calling her parent's, but she doubted they'd even come anymore. 

"My apologies. I didn't mean to startle you." He reached up and removed his hat, bowing over the sill. He was bald. She had seen few men in her life besides her father and the ill assortment that had come for her mothers help, but none had looked as strange as him. "I'm a salesman. I'm on my way to check on a recent purchase and I happened to see your window." 

Ellen brushed her purple hair back behind her ears. "Hello." She greeted cautiously. It was so strange to have someone to talk too who wasn't begging her to let them out of one of the cells downstairs. "My name is Ellen."

"What a beautiful name, for a beautiful girl. My name is Ogre." He replaced his hat. "Why are you in bed on suck a lovely day, Miss. Ellen?" 

She looked down. "I'm sick. I have to stay inside. I'm reading a book."

He leaned forward. "Is it a good book?"

"No."

"A pity." He reached into his jacket and pulled out a book. The cover was made of leather with lovely golden symbols spending every inch. But it was thin. Thinner then she would have expected from such a beautiful book. "This, I'm told, is a very good read. And this book can grant the reader any wish."

Ellen gasped, her eyes growing wide. Between her mother and her father, Ellen was a true believer of the supernatural. And she needed a wish. Even just one would do fine. She touched her chest, almost feeling the sickness inside her. 

"You seem unhappy, Miss. Ellen, so I'd like to give this to you. But I am a salesman." His smile never faded. "What do you have to trade?"

The little girl smiled wickedly.


	5. Off With Her Head

**"My father and my mother didn't love me.  
So I X them."**

xx/xx/xx

****

What woke him wasn't the warm liquid pooling around his head or the smell of cooper in the air, but a weight that plopped onto his chest.

Garry opened his eyes and looked up at his daughter of seven sitting on his chest. He hadn't spoken to her since she took Ib away from her, but he wasn't so mad as to have forgotten that she was his. Or maybe he had become sane enough to understand that she was his now. Still if felt like a long time since he had looked at her. 

It was not so dark that Garry couldn't see, but it took a moment for him to understand the sight before him. She was still in a white dress like she usually wore, but it was covered in something dark that was crawling up, soaking the cloth completely. He didn't notice the knife in her hand until it was too late. 

He wondered if Aya had given it back to her. He wondered if Aya was dead. He wondered if Ib was going to die again. He wondered if it was his fault. He wondered if he was sad or happy to know that it was all over. 

………….

Ellen grinned wildly, watching her parents blood mix on the matrices. It was done. She laughed, her eyes crazy, covered in her parents blood. She'd done everything to the books specifications and she couldn't be more happy to watch the life drain from her parents confused eyes. 

When a black cat jumped up on bed beside her, she wasn't surprised. "Yo." It said. She giggled at him, playing with the blood on her fingers. "What do you want?" 

Ellen laughed. "I want to be strong. I want to be free!" She leapt off the bed, spinning in the room that smelled like dead. "I want to be loved!"

The strange cat purred and she knew that he'd agreed. She left the demon and walked past the baby's crib. She didn't spare a single glance for her sister. She went to Ib's room, the one her parent's would have moved the baby too when she got old enough, and threw open the closet. All those beautiful dresses her mother had made for that dead-eyed doll. She would take them and only them. She wrapped her arms around them and yanked them down. 

In the bedroom, the black cat jumped up into the crib and walked around the baby, leaving bloody prints around her head. 

He was interrupted by pale hands scooping up the small baby. 

"Yo, Ogre!" the cat complained, flicking his tail annoyed. 

"Cat."

The demon huffed. "Is that one yours?" he asked, impatient to finish his meal. "Another for your collection?" 

The baby didn't move much other than to blink up at him with eyes that reflected the blood around them. When he touched her face, she coo'd. "What an unfitting name…" 

"Are you ignoring me?" 

Ogre rolled his eyes and waved off the cat. "This is Miss. Ellen's payment for the spell book. This one is mine. The souls trapped in the dolls downstairs are all yours. Leave me." the cat grinned, scampering out towards the basement. 

Ogre approached the bed and gazed down at the body of the young girl he'd once known. Her father would kill him for letting her die in such a way, but he would never know. He bowed his head, truly sorry for her fate. She was a true loss to the world. But the girl in his arms was important. More important than anything Aya would have accomplished on her own. He would make sure that she lived up to her potential. 

"How about Aki?" He muttered to himself, staring down at the child, seemingly unaware of the flames that began climbing up the walls around him.

…………

Ellen watched as the bright orange flames slowly consumed her childhood home. Hearing the wood pop and crackle under the heat gave her a feeling of satisfaction. A feeling that she had truly ended a chapter of her life. 

"Hey! Jeez! I was still in there." The black cat snapped, appearing suddenly at her side. "We shouldn't be here when the coppers show up."

Ellen watched for a moment longer, before turning away, her arms filled with the dead girls wardrobe, her head spinning with magic and her bloody knife soaking into her bloody dress. 

The cat purred, following her into the woods where he would grant her everything she wanted, as long as she brought him all the souls he wanted. "Thanks for the meal~"

**"The demon took me to this forest.  
It thanked me for the meal and gave me this house.  
Then I became a witch."**

xx/xx/xx

****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End.
> 
> And Surprise! This is also Aki's (Misao) origin story. So, what do you think? I hope to improve the story one day, because I know it needs a lot of work, but for now, let me know what you think! 
> 
> Ib, Mad Father, Witch's House, Misao all belong to their respective owners.


End file.
